"The superior man is catholic and no partizan. The mean man is a partizan and not catholic." (君子周而不比、小人比而不周。) ─ Confucius, The Analects, 2.XIV, translation by James Legge.

Monday, August 23, 2010

Intellectual Property, Cultural Commons, and Ancient Traditions

A comic (literally) review of a book whose author "has returned to offer a critique of the idea that all creative work is 'intellectual property' and to elucidate and defend our 'cultural commons'" — Common as Air.

3 Comments:

Steven P. Cornett said...

I've heard some horror stories about copyright, but being sued for silence, as Michael Batt was? Does that mean I owe the John Cage Estate performance fees every time I simply sit and listen and ponder the world in my home?

What if I do it in public?

Would that make every note and even any act of silence an (un)intentional copyright violation?

As Charles Dickens' character Mr. Bumble said in Oliver Twist, "If the law supposes that, the law is an ass."

OTOH, that sounds like a magnificent bit of protest against intellectual property law. Publicly announce that you are about to commit a criminal act under copyright law, have somebody start a timer and tell you when the minute is up, and then...sit down and do nothing.

Combine that with the sign about Cage's work and the copyright abuse committed, and that would get the point across.